drawing
- Museum number
- 1910,0212.227
- Description
-
Downton; view from the edge of a river or pond looking towards the town, part of a thatched cottage and church tower visible over trees in the mid-distance, two figures on a horse riding through the water. 1820
Graphite
- Production date
- 1820
- Dimensions
-
Height: 111 millimetres
-
Width: 176 millimetres
- $Inscriptions
-
- Curator's comments
- This drawing is made on a trimmed-down page from one of two small sketch-books Constable used during a six-week stay in Salisbury in July and August 1820. Twenty such drawings have been identified, but except where watermarks are visible, exactly which drawings came from which book cannot be ascertained (Reynolds, 'The later paintings and drawings of John Constable', p. 66).
Downton is a village on the northern fringes of the New Forest, some five miles south of Sallisbury. It is not known whether Constable had any specific motive for visiting the area, which he might have done on a day trip. There is one other drawing of Downton now known, which is undated, and a drawing entitled 'Cottages and trees in the New Forest', bearing the same date as 1910-2-12-228, which must represent a spot nearby (R20.41 and R20.42, both Victoria and Albert Museum). Although Constable remained at Salisbury until 20 August, there are no more dated drawings after 4 August; it may be that during the latter part of his stay, once he had settled in and also explored the locality, he spent more time painting than drawing. For further comments on Constable's stay in Salisbury in 1820, see 1910-12-229.
- Location
- Not on display
- Exhibition history
-
2011 May-Sep, Salisbury & Sth Wiltshire Mus, Constable and Salisbury
- Acquisition date
- 1910
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Registration number
- 1910,0212.227
